Charlene Boyce

Green Party volunteer Leanne Chisholm organized the rally that took place last weekend. We are so grateful for all her hard work! She shares this report. If you would like to organize an event, please contact gpns@greenpartyns.ca!

Leanne Chisholm opens the Rise For Climate Change rally, September 17, 2018.

By Leanne Chisholm

On Saturday, September 8 th , 2018 approximately 75 people came out to the Halifax Seaport Market to demand a fossil free future. The rally was in conjunction with over 900 other rallies on all 7 continents organized by a group called 350.org based in the United States. The rallies were timed to coincide with the Global Climate Action Summit being held in San Francisco, California. Over 250,000 people participated and yet the event was largely ignored by major media outlets.

Thomas Trappenburg and Jo-Ann Roberts spoke passionately to our group of protestors and we marched along the waterfront as far as Bishop’s Landing drawing attention to our cause and the Green Party.

I hope we can participate in this event again next year and promote the event on university campuses during orientation week to attract more young people to the event and inspire them to become members of the Green Party.

Statement to the NS Electoral Boundaries Commission

From Charlene Boyce, co-President of the Nova Scotia Green Party

Good evening,

My name is Charlene Boyce. I am resident of Clayton Park, Halifax, Nova Scotia and I am the co-president of the Green Party of Nova Scotia.

The most effective way to ensure the democratically expressed wishes of a diverse electorate are reflected in government is to reform the electoral system to a system of proportional representation. Respectfully, although I acknowledge this is beyond the terms of reference of this group, I strongly believe this message should go into the formal record of proceedings. Many Nova Scotians, like our neighbors in Prince Edward Island, believe that proportional representation would better ensure government includes and recognizes diverse voices, like those of Acadian Nova Scotians, Black Nova Scotians, immigrants and those First Nations people who choose to participate in our system of government.

The Springtide Collective, among other groups, have done a wonderful job of developing education tools to help citizens understand these systems. They are easier to understand than a typical provincial budget!

Rather than focusing exclusively on geographic boundaries, I would like the government to consider electoral reform to ensure that everyone’s vote counts. Please consider proportional representation.

Thank you.

Charlene Boyce

Rise for Climate – September 8, 2018

President’s Submission to the Electoral Boundaries Commission